Columns :
Preventative Measure - Gamal NewryCrime Risk Assessment: How exposed are you? - Dec 18, 2014 - 2:34:20 AMThe
high crime rate has all of us
concerned about our safety and well being, it seems hopeless! You, your
family, and staff are not immune to these troubling times. However, we
must not allow
the current trend of events cause panic and insecurity, thus we must
develop
strategy and tactics that increase our chances of survival. We must be
wise,
deliberate and refuse to be victims and have a victim mind set. The
methods
discussed here are real and do not attempt to be politically correct.
The key
aim is to educate you in what’s happening in our society and present
effective
and efficient ways to survive the encounter. The current crime trend can cause many to believe that there
is little they can do...

I recall
being a part of a response team sent to an impacted location; and from the
moment our plane touched down we were bombarded with questions about our
ability to recover and deliver the impacted service. Our response was
we came to assess. The reply from the customers was focused as they
indicated we could have called ahead speak with our staff on the ground
and would have been told that customers needed access to the service...

Even more so
for your staff, customers, vendors, and other stakeholders who are depending on
your brand to function. Business continuity and operational resilience (BCOR)
in the 21st century is not optional it is a must. It is a
demonstration of your commitment to service excellence and the high regard you
have for your stakeholders...

Columns :
Preventative Measure - Gamal NewryWhat is your Company's Pandemic Policy? Maybe you already have one… - Oct 10, 2014 - 1:02:04 PM"Given our heavy
reliance on tourism and the daily initiatives to increase visitor
arrivals, we become prone to the undetected entry of contagious
sickness..."
When
I was first introduced to business continuity in the early 2000’s the
buzz word was the H1N1 / H5N1/ avian influenza, better known as the bird
flu. Many major global players like Toyota and Sony were beginning to
develop and test response plans to this contagious and limited control
type of situation. There were very little emphasis and few contingencies
available for business here in the Bahamas, as we were still caught up
like most of the western world on the residual impact of 9/11 and thus
for us, terrorism was our ‘buzz word’, the biggest priority.

Columns :
Preventative Measure - Gamal NewryEvacuations: How Are We Going to Get Out? - Jul 19, 2014 - 10:53:01 PM"They coming by boat,
they coming by plane, they coming in wheel chair, and walking with
cane" is a line taken from a popular Bahamian song that has nothing to
do with evacuations, but never the less speaks volumes to what can be
expected during an evacuation event. It really asks the question, have
you prepared for the variables and challenges that can present
themselves during an emergency event.

When crisis events such as
fire, bomb threats or even severe weather conditions present themselves
timely safe and coordinated evacuations usually form a part of your
response options. Be it as simple as evacuating from a building or as
complex as evacuating from a country, this escape option cannot be left
to chance. Compounding this situation is that during emergency events
most rational thinking person become very irrational as a result of the
panic and chaos that usually accompany these scenarios. We have seen
during some of our training drills how staff in particular...

Columns :
Preventative Measure - Gamal NewryNational Crime Reporting Network (NCRN) - Apr 22, 2014 - 3:02:59 PMThe current state of affairs as it relates
to crime and social disobedience in the Bahamas is far from normal. We are
seeing and hearing of behavior that leaves a lot to be desired about the future
and well-being of the nation. This statement is mine and is supported by the
fact that the murder rate has sky rocketed, not to mention the assault statics,
which have nearly tripled in the last 10 years. If you agree with my
observations then you should agree that we cannot bury our heads in the ground
and hope that it all gets better. I venture to say that you will say that we
are in an emergency situation.

We
have all watched for the last few years as our society is faced with increasing
incidents of unrelenting violence on one hand and the apparent refusal of the
political and religious leadership of our country, to take proactive steps to
curve this problem...

On November 22, 2013 the United
States marked the 50th anniversary of the assignation of John F.
Kennedy. 50 years later there still remain unanswered questions regarding the
circumstances surrounding this event. Without a doubt this was one of the
darkest moments in America’s history and certainly the Secret Service will have
this cloud hang over them perhaps for as long as time exists. This Department
of the United States Treasury has the sole responsibility for the protection of
‘POTUS’ or rather President of the United States. So when Kennedy was killed
they failed, plain and simple. But like most things in life smaller and perhaps
insignificant failures and alternative agendas and priorities usually leads to disasters
failures of such magnitude.

Enter December 9, 2013, and we
have the home invasion and robbery of the Philip Davis the ‘Acting’ Prime
Minister on Monday past. Perhaps this comparison may be seen as overreaching, but
our chief executive officer was held up and robbed at gunpoint....

Columns :
Preventative Measure - Gamal NewryCrime: What is Working, What is Not, and Why? - Dec 5, 2013 - 5:25:11 PMThe negative impact of crime is not unique to the Bahamas, and
when one visits other countries you realize this very quickly. Crime is said to
be a phenomenon that transcends race, financial status, political alliance, and
religion. What is important is that the world is getting very much smaller and
crime events are now more than ever crossing borders. This wild card as I would
like to call it makes preparation and response to such events very complex.
This is because the perpetrators of theft and loss may not be living in the
Bahamas or can quickly escape to other jurisdictions, making the readiness and
response to local and international crime matters more multifaceted and costly.

If you think that international crime does not impact you, then you perhaps are
one of those persons who does not use the internet or own a credit card. The
simple act of logging in immediately makes your presence international and
subsequently exposes you to the numerous global threats that exist. Some
important questions need to be asked regarding what we are doing...

With this in mind we can now
direct our attention to what in my opinion is the most critical element
in this equation. This is the human factor, I think David Brooks' May
27, 2010 Op-Ed piece in the New York Times titled "Drilling for
Certainty" is point on when he sums up risk perception as follows;

Whatever the event and whenever it
occurs, best practice suggest that the business in the first instance,
take steps to protect the assets, secondly prevent the occurrence, third
prepare for the inevitable, then be in a position to respond to the
incident

Columns :
Preventative Measure - Gamal NewryAssessing your business security program - Mar 20, 2013 - 8:51:43 PMIt is interesting as I
visit various business in the Bahamas how so many of them take security
measures for granted, and do not fully utilize the natural preventative
mechanisms already in place. Thus in many instances initiatives are
overlooked, repeated and just plain silly. What's even worse is when
they are asked about what they have done, there seems to be no method to
their strategy. Certainly the intention is good; however the approach
is disjointed and wasteful financially. I have decided not to mention
some of these failures as I do not want to put lives and other assets at
unnecessary risk.

Certainly business owners and leaders need
help, and in to many instances it comes from security service providers
who are only concerned about making the...

If the “American government would
have responded like Wal-Mart has responded, we wouldn’t be in this
crisis.” Louisiana’s Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard,
paraphrasing Sheriff Harry Lee during an interview on “Meet the Press,”
in October 2005

The Washington Post in its September 6, 2005
edition states: “Over the next few days [beginning two days after the
hurricane hit], Wal-Mart’s response to Katrina..."

Columns :
Preventative Measure - Gamal NewryThe Importance of a Good Security Team - Oct 4, 2012 - 1:59:01 AMA few years ago I had the pleasure of
working for a major developer / investor here in the Bahamas, who
specialized in gated communities and is a major player in 3 of the high
end communities in the Bahamas and the crème de la crème in Orlando. In
my meetings with him as head of security he shared the fact that
security was the major selling point for these residential properties.
If the home owner does not feel safe, they will not buy and if they do;
they will sell immediately if crime and loss are not managed properly.
Many other professionals and world leaders share the same perspective,
in fact if a company decides to close its doors, the last persons to
leave are the security force. This illustrates the importance of
security to the success of any business...

Columns :
Preventative Measure - Gamal NewryCrime vs. Loss; Knowing the Difference - Sep 26, 2012 - 11:08:10 PMIn a modern society,
there is no other issue I believe that is more significant than that of
protecting our assets. Daily most of us are all focused on acquiring
wealth for a better lifestyle and maintaining our freedom, thus it is
only natural that the next logical step would be to protect what we have
obtained. But what have we obtained? It is exactly the people and
things which are valuable to us, that in one way or another, dictate
what and who we are. The debate now is not whether we have misplaced our
values, but rather to what extent are we prepared to go to keep what is
precious to us. That ‘extent’ is asset protection, that ‘extent’ is
loss prevention, which we collectively call security or whatever we
choose to call it. Simply put, it is keeping what you have safe and
secure...

In addition these
businesses need full time staff, contracted, service providers and
vendors to operate. Filtering out those who pose a threat to commerce as
opposed to those who are genuine presents a clear and present danger to
its success. When this is looked at comprehensively many organizations
have just as much entry points as perhaps our archipelago of islands...

At the time of
writing this, I am at the 58th American Society for Industrial Security
Conference here in the “City of Brotherly Love” Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. It has been a busy first two days with class starting from
Sunday and we are still at it. It is always good when liked minded
professionals come together to share in fellowship, it almost feels like
church.

Forums like these remind you
that there are many shared, concerns, opportunities and threats. A
collaborative approach benefits all stake holders and more importantly
reminds us that we are all in this together. In his book’ Dig Your Well
Before You're Thirsty’ Harvey Mackey stress the importance of building
good relationships before you need to draw on them...

Columns :
Preventative Measure - Gamal NewryThe Need for Regular Review of Loss Prevention Programs - Sep 3, 2012 - 11:51:09 PMHow often do you go to the doctor for a checkup? For most of us it not as often as it should be and perhaps for even more of us it is when something is wrong and we need to fix it. Certainly we would all agree that this is not the best approach, but none the less we do it still the same. As we get older or body either become more prone to catching some type of virus or we build up an immunity and strong resistance. But really does invulnerability exist, or have we simply addressed a particular threat, remaining open to the countless others.

We inevitably become victims to the next attack, as no attack regardless of similarity is the same. Time, availability of resources, and yes the current condition of your health and wellness program will impact how...

Columns :
Preventative Measure - Gamal NewryWho is at Fault for Armed Robbery? - Jun 1, 2011 - 9:11:37 AMRecently the city of
Nassau was shocked to hear of a bold daytime robbery of a major
department store on Bay Street. The location was not so much an issue as
there have been numerous criminal incidents on Bay Street. What shocked
the town was that this event occurred at about 10am on a Sunday
morning. In a recent letter to the editor of the Tribune the writer
implies that the police have come under unfair criticism for the
apparent lack of presence on Bay Street that may have contributed to the
success of this robbery.

Patrols whether on foot or via motor
vehicles, by way of police or security personnel are intended to deter
potential law breakers and observe potential safety hazards. This along
with post duties are probably some of the oldest functions of law
enforcement and security services. The implementing of the patrol
function should not be haphazard...

No
folks, not some fantasy of mine, and yes, sometimes this is easier said
than done but these are the types of tactics we need to develop. Whereas
I am quite aware of the need to fight in necessary, but certainly it
would be easier to engage our young men and women before we see them
doing the ‘Bank Lane Shuffle’, before we hear the cries of 'not my good
child'. With this in mind, I challenge everyone to reach out via a youth
group or in your neighborhood to our young men and women, and let them know
there is hope...

Columns :
Preventative Measure - Gamal NewryKnow who your friends are, as your enemies will reveal themselves - May 4, 2011 - 2:15:07 PMI
am of the opinion that the death of Osama bin Laden at this point in
history has very little affect on the current global terrorism
community. In fact his killing has the potential to be of more harm than
good. Certainly from a political standpoint it gives the current
President a good boost, never the less terrorism is here to stay.
Terrorism despite its fanfare and apparent ‘awing’ of the public is and
will always be a criminal act. An as all criminals do, the terrorist
seeks to use fear to accomplish their goals and draw attention to their
particular cause. The events over the weekend regarding the capture of
the ‘Most Wanted Man’ in US history can provide many great lesson for us
here in the Bahamas regarding the crime situation and creating a safe
community if only the perception of the same...